


Killing Time

by water_bby



Category: Veritas: The Quest
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28112367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_bby/pseuds/water_bby
Summary: Solomon has been missing for three days. Nikko is not pleased when Vincent decides the appropriate response is to change Nikko's typical school day.
Relationships: Vincent Siminou & Nikko Zond, Vincent Siminou/Solomon Zond
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Killing Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flashforeward](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashforeward/gifts).



The third morning after they lost contact with his dad, Nikko slammed into the breakfast nook. How dare Vincent be this calm. Nikko knew that he was on edge, and he had learned to avoid taking that out on others, mostly. Still, Vincent had refused to let him sleep in, or, to be honest, more like lie in bed fuming. Nikko felt he should be rewarded for not getting on everybody’s nerves. But here he was, having an omelet while the others avoided talking about anything of importance.

“Juliet, Nikko will have his physical education hour following breakfast,” Vincent announced. “We have already discussed it.”

“Oh, okay,” Juliet said, her eyes moving from Vincent to Nikko and back. “I can just push math to the end of the day, right, Nikko?”

“Whatever,” he sulked. He thought they should just let him take the damned GED test, and then they could stop trying to fill all his time with “schoolwork.” There were much more exciting ways to fill his days, and if Dad insisted on Nikko going to college, well, Nikko already had his arguments for using on-line schools ready to go. He was hoping to use the gap year argument first, though. It would allow him to be a real part of the team before having the college argument.

Juliet shot him a quick commiserating smile. Phys Ed wasn’t on today’s class list, after all, so she knew this was Vincent wanting to teach him a lesson. Though even Nikko had no idea what that lesson might be. However, he and Vincent managed to have better, well, more extended, conversations during their sessions than at any other time. Maybe Vincent wanted to talk. A brief thought crossed his mind about when Vincent and his dad had better conversations before he forced his attention on to his breakfast. He didn’t want to think about his dad right now, not while he was missing, and Nikko suspected the answer was “during sex,” and he did not need to think about his dad and sex at all.

Nikko did take a bit of pleasure in dragging his meal out as long as possible. Just because he was getting better at not taking his emotions out on others didn’t mean he was above petty revenge. They weren’t doing anything to find Dad, and he couldn’t understand why. Vincent saying, “We have to wait to hear more,” made no sense. What if Dorna had Dad?

But he eventually finished eating and followed Vincent to the gym. He was not surprised when Vincent put him through 45 minutes of Tai Chi. It had become Vincent’s go-to exercise whenever he wanted to make Nikko think. So he was surprised when Vincent announced they would spar for the remaining time. And this was a proper fight, no limit on style, no buzzer to break them off every five minutes and allow Vincent to list everything Nikko had to practice more. He was even more surprised when he managed to land a blow on Vincent’s face—so much so that Nikko dropped his guard and opened his mouth to ask if the older man was okay when Vincent tackled him while he was still formulating the question.

They lay there, panting, for a minute or so until the buzzer sounded for the end of the session. Vincent pushed himself up, and Nikko accepted the offered hand.

“Tomorrow, I want a list of what you did right and wrong and suggestions for how to improve. In writing.”

“What?”

“I believe Juliet is waiting for you.”

And then Vincent was gone. Nikko just stared at the door. This exit was abrupt even for Vincent, and Vincent had always done the review right after they sparred. 

Maybe, Nikko thought as he quickly changed and went to find Juliet, he wasn’t the only one worried about Dad.

When he found her, Juliet was chatting with Cal. The other man gave Nikko a thumbs up. “Just saw Vincent. Looks like someone landed a hit this morning.”

Nikko grimaced, and Cal laughed before leaving them to “school.”

Nikko didn’t think anything was odd when Vincent didn’t join them for lunch. It was rare that everyone was there unless they had spent the morning planning. But when dinner came, and Vincent didn’t show up, they started comparing notes. Nikko was not surprised that Cal turned out to be the last person to see Vincent, just after the older man finished sparring with Nikko. Vincent often disappeared for hours at a time, so none of them had thought anything about not seeing him all day. But Dad was missing, and Dad was the only person who Vincent regularly kept updated on what he was doing. Vincent would be gone for both lunch and dinner on a typical day, and Dad would say, “He’s working,” and that would be it. But Dad was missing; this was not a typical day.

“Maggie,” Nikko asked, “did you find Dad?”

Maggie shook her head. “I didn’t.” She held Nikko’s eyes for a long moment. “That doesn’t mean that Vincent didn’t.”

Nikko dropped his eyes to his plate. “Why wouldn’t he tell me? Or you?”

Cal barked a laugh. “Why would he?”

Nikko opened his mouth to hit back and then saw the rueful look on Cal’s face. “Yeah, point.” Vincent only regularly told Dad what he was up to. “He would have just left.”

Except, Nikko realized as he continued to eat his meal silently, Vincent hadn’t just left. He had carefully made sure Nikko wouldn’t be expecting to see him later in the day. Well, Nikko thought, I suppose it’s an improvement to be manipulated out of the way rather than ignored. Maybe he didn’t feel so bad about actually landing that hit earlier.

“Any idea when we should expect to hear from them?” Juliet asked.

Maggie and Cal shrugged.

“No news is probably good news,” Maggie added.

Nikko finally went to bed, still fuming. Vincent had made the changes to Nikko’s schedule so he could slip away without Nikko figuring out that he was going after Dad. It was only a minor consolation that it was evident at dinner that no one else had known that Vincent was leaving, either. It did not make for a good night’s sleep.

When Nikko’s bedroom door was pushed open gently at around 3:00 in the morning, he was already more than half-awake. He tensed as the man entered his room and then caught the shape of his face in soft light reflected in from the far end of the hall.

“Dad!”

“Hey, Nikko. I thought I’d check in before getting some sleep myself.”

Nikko hugged his father hard and then pushed him down to sit on the bed while he turned the bedside lamp on to check for injuries.

“You know Vincent has already checked.” The tone was gentle, though, a shared joke. Of course, Vincent had already checked.

“Yeah, but I get son’s rights.” Nikko grinned. “No apparent injuries. Anything hidden I should know about?”

“No. I just had an unexpected hurdle to getting back home. No thugs.”

This time, Nikko thought. “Good.”

“Vincent, however, somehow managed to get socked in the face. I’m not sure how that happened in the absence of thugs.”

Oh, that was just unfair! Wasn’t the whole point of his training with Vincent to learn how to hit somebody if he had to? “Dad!” Nikko whined, mostly to see his father grin at him in precisely that way.

“Your mother would be proud of you. You’re going to be—you are—a valuable member of this team.”

“About that...”

Dad shook his head. “In the morning. I’ve had a long few days, and I really need some sleep before I have an argument with you about school.”

Nikko hugged him again before ushering his father out of the room. “Good night, Dad. See you in the morning.”

Nikko was not surprised to find himself the first one in the kitchen less than four hours later. He was mildly surprised that there was no sign that Vincent had been through for a cup of coffee. So he busied himself with brewing a pot of coffee and preparing fresh fruit for a tray. When Cal and Juliet wandered in a short while later, he nodded towards the brewed coffee, mouthed, “Good morning,” and left with his tray of fruit, three mugs, and an old-fashioned coffee pot.

When he reached his father’s bedroom door, he paused for a moment to figure out whether to elbow the door or risk putting the tray down while he knocked. He was not surprised when the door suddenly opened, Vincent giving him a flat stare.

“Is Dad still asleep?”

“No, though he probably should be.” Vincent didn’t invite him in so much as let him into the room to put the tray down on a low table near the door. The sound of the shower explained where his dad was.

Nikko started filling the mugs, then looked back to Vincent. “Hey, Vincent? Thanks. For getting him back.”

“You are welcome.”

“And sorry about the...the bruise.”

“That is no problem. I shall wear it with pride.”

Nikko turned to look at the older man. “You are so weird sometimes.”

Vincent nodded and took a sip from his mug. “I believe that is a requirement of stepfathers.”

Nikko burst out laughing. “Just take care of Dad. That’s all I ask.”

Vincent nodded again. “I shall go make sure that your father is dressed before leaving the bathroom. I do not wish to deal with the embarrassment.”

Nikko laughed again, but he felt the blush covering his face. Just the idea was embarrassing enough.

Now to prepare for his argument with his father about the GED and a gap year. He was adding “spend time with family” to the list.


End file.
